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ROYAL ACADEMY. 1Ho, 25 S—Snow- Storm; Hannibal and his. Army j crusting the Alps. — J. M. W. Turner.—Mr, Turner h;is taken his description of this picture from a MS, Poem, entitled “ Fallacies of Hope/’ of which, if we are to judge from this specimen, it will he unnecessary to say move, than that it may as well continue in M.S.; Mr. Turner s picture having already bestowed on it the full share of celebrity it is likely to obtain.-“ Crafr, treachery, and fraud ; Salapian forceIlun^ on the fainting rear! then Plunder seiz’dThe victot and the captive—Saguntum's spoilAlike became their prey ; stiil the chief advanc'd, jLook'd on the sun with hope ; low, broad, and'wan j • IWhile the fierce archer of the downward yearStains Italy’s blanch'd barrier with storms.Jn vain each pass, ensanguin’d deep with dead,Or rorkv fragments,, wide destruction roll’d ;Still on Campanta’s fertile plains he thought,But the loud breeze sob’d “ Capua’s joys beware 1”This is a very considerable display of the talents of tliis very superior artist. Yet the subject is badly considered. The soldiers of Hannibal in the act of crossing tire Alps during a storm might have been represented in a manner more becoming hardy war- | riors than crouching under the projection of rocks for shelter from the snows. The landscape, how- j e.er, is handled in a masterly manner. The. fc low, broad, and wan” sun is painted with peculiar felicity, and the warm tinting from the great source of light struggling through the blackness of the storm, gives j a fine relief to the subject, which is still further improved by the introduction of a corner of cloudless sky on the left. The cjouds wrapt up in darkness, to depict the storm, are most ably managed j and while the eye acknowledges their savage wildness, it at the same time confesses their truth and nature. The soldiers’ fires on various parts of the Alps, carry out the light; diversify the theme, and are altogether very happily introduced. Mr. Turner has three other tine views, but this is his great-effort.
Newspaper Details
London St James Chronicle and Evening Post
London, Middlesex, GB
Sat, May 23, 1812
Page 4
Full Page
Clipped by
Adam N.
NA, 02 Nov 2024
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